Database Users

Got tired of waiting! Bought the Acer

After keeping up with over 8000 posts of trying to get the Transformer, I gave in and spent the extra 50 for the Acer.
1) It was readily available at my local BB.
2) I didn't want to wait.
Im hoping before my 2 week return policy is up, transformers will start showing up and I can get one locally. If not, I have 14 days to decide if I keep the Acer or not.
Bottom line, Acer is nice. We also have an Ipad and NC in our household, and really, as a daily user, I don't see much difference between the Acer LCD and the IPS.
Internet loads faster than the Ipad. I havent tested everything but for what I use it for, its working fine.
My point: Try the Acer from your local BB. It may fit the need for the extra 50.
Or, cross our fingers and maybe Target will have a coupon code to get it sub 400 if and when it arrives May 15.

The acer doesn't look bad until you put side by side with the transformer.

Understandable!
Definitely be interested in hearing your impressions and what you like / don't like about it.
I love my Transformer, but there are a couple things that are pretty neat about the Acer, including haptic feedback and a USB port...

I personally only went with the Transformer because of the keyboard dock.

chay03 said:
We also have an Ipad and NC in our household, and really, as a daily user, I don't see much difference between the Acer LCD and the IPS.
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Not sure how you can say that. I've owned an iPad, NC - had an Acer for about 3 days from BB, and my TF came in a few days ago - world's difference between the IPS and non-IPS screens.
I love the Transformer and would heavily recommend against Acer. In addition to the screen - it's too bulky (yes I know on paper it's 50g but I could really feel it), not a fan of the aluminium back, hardware buttons are hard to get to (the rotation lock button was impossible to operate on 1st try). The pluses are USB host and rear camera flash but I was ok giving those up simply for the screen.
(My 2 cents...)

I'm waiting for my B&H order to come in after May 31st. If Samsung announces that their 10.1 has something other than Tegra2 and that out of the box their Exynos or Orion SoC can play 720p high profile than I'll cancel my order and wait til June 8.

Let me help you out a little:
http://www.nowinstock.net/computers/tablets/asus/

touch screen grid
From what I've heard and pictures i've seen, the touch screen grid is VERY visible on the acer. This would drive me crazy.

Yes, the touch screen grid is visible but you really have to look for it.
Just enjoy the money spent and stop looking for something bad.
I can also agree with the other poster about the Ipad and Acer side by side. Of course you'll see a difference. Ex) G-tablet, very bad screen on its own, but side-by-side to anything else, of course it looks alot worse.
Me perosonally, I wanted it to be slightly thinner as far as holding it in portrait mode. I don't like the wider bezel transformer was taking up. Im using some version of a thumb keyboard that seems to work ok for me.
I haven't tested all the bells and whistles yet. I have downloaded a few apps and suprisingly, no force closes yet.
Now to the dock. Thats up to another 150, so you actually paying 550 transformer with dock before tax. From what i understand, my usb kb and mouse should work, free of charge. Or up to 50 something.
Extra battery life....ok. I can see if you travel alot, its understandable.
But I work 12 hours a day, work with kid's homework and make time for them, so I don't plan on using it hard like others.
Thats just how I see things, it works for me now, but if I do get a chance to play with a Transformer before my 14 days are up, I may switch. Who knows. But im not gonna hold my breath.
And sorry for not knowing how to use quotes...

I had the acer for a while, and yes it was nice. A little bulky (not sure the transformer is any different, I haven't received mine yet), the grid drove me nuts (I hardly ever saw it, but when I did it was really annoying and grabbed my attention).
The screen looked nice, but nothing like the ipad2 screen I saw. I'd still say it's worth the money if you don't care about the keyboard dock or if you need usb right on the tablet. My fiancee played with the acer while I had it, and now she bugs me every day about getting another one.

chay03 said:
Yes, the touch screen grid is visible but you really have to look for it.
Just enjoy the money spent and stop looking for something bad.
I can also agree with the other poster about the Ipad and Acer side by side. Of course you'll see a difference. Ex) G-tablet, very bad screen on its own, but side-by-side to anything else, of course it looks alot worse.
Me perosonally, I wanted it to be slightly thinner as far as holding it in portrait mode. I don't like the wider bezel transformer was taking up. Im using some version of a thumb keyboard that seems to work ok for me.
I haven't tested all the bells and whistles yet. I have downloaded a few apps and suprisingly, no force closes yet.
Now to the dock. Thats up to another 150, so you actually paying 550 transformer with dock before tax. From what i understand, my usb kb and mouse should work, free of charge. Or up to 50 something.
Extra battery life....ok. I can see if you travel alot, its understandable.
But I work 12 hours a day, work with kid's homework and make time for them, so I don't plan on using it hard like others.
Thats just how I see things, it works for me now, but if I do get a chance to play with a Transformer before my 14 days are up, I may switch. Who knows. But im not gonna hold my breath.
And sorry for not knowing how to use quotes...
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I can't enjoy spending more money on a lesser product, it's why I generally don't buy apple

seshmaru said:
I can't enjoy spending more money on a lesser product, it's why I generally don't buy apple
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my thoughts exactly.

toddmp said:
my thoughts exactly.
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seshmaru said:
I can't enjoy spending more money on a lesser product, it's why I generally don't buy apple
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Seriously?
Because while I am loving Honeycomb, my iPad 2 is killing my Transformer in speed, available apps, stability, interface consistency, size, build quality, speaker quality, battery life, media player quality....
Of course, there is a reason I am trying out Honeycomb... I like new technology!
(And I'd really like a microsd slot, but Steve says no! )

bleclair said:
Seriously?
Because while I am loving Honeycomb, my iPad 2 is killing my Transformer in speed, available apps, stability, interface consistency, size, build quality, speaker quality, battery life, media player quality....
Of course, there is a reason I am trying out Honeycomb... I'd really like a microsd slot, but Steve says no!
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I had an iPad I now gave to the misses, and it just felt like my 3GS on a bigger screen. Honeycomb feels like an actual tablet OS, even if it has it's flaws. Also the transformers sound is better, no use arguing with that since iPad only does mono sound. App availability is also not completely true, since I can't use iPhone apps properly on my iPad since it just blows em up making them generally look really bad or keeps em in a small box making them not attractive either. However Android apps generally scale to the tablet format well.
Speed can't really tell the difference, I have a custom ROM which might make a difference though. All other points are true though. But you don't buy a transformer at this point to get a finished product, you buy it on potential due to honeycomb needing to mature.

seshmaru said:
Honeycomb feels like an actual tablet OS
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Totally agree with that one! Being able to connect a hard drive, keyboard, usb stick, etc. That's awesome!
As for app availability I'm finding the actual Honeycomb/tablet apps in short supply while there are many, many tablet specific apps on the Apple App Store.
The speakers on the iPad maybe be mono, but it sounds better to me.
Anyway, don't get me wrong, I love both (well, I will love my Transformer again after a firmware update) but I just thought Apple didn't deserve such a hard knock.
You can hate their computers (I mean because of the price, locked in aspect and some people's dislike of OSX) but their tablets and phones are pretty nice.

bleclair said:
Totally agree with that one! Being able to connect a hard drive, keyboard, usb stick, etc. That's awesome!
As for app availability I'm finding the actual Honeycomb/tablet apps in short supply while there are many, many tablet specific apps on the Apple App Store.
The speakers on the iPad maybe be mono, but it sounds better to me.
Anyway, don't get me wrong, I love both (well, I will love my Transformer again after a firmware update) but I just thought Apple didn't deserve such a hard knock.
You can hate their computers (I mean because of the price, locked in aspect and some people's dislike of OSX) but their tablets and phones are pretty nice.
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I said apple in general, as I stated I owned an iPad and an iPhone 3GS, not everything they make is horribly overpriced, but in general they are.
and my point is that there are a ton of regular android apps that work really well on honeycomb, even though they don't get counted as "tablet apps".
I wasn't specifically knocking the iPad, just apple in general.

kudosmog said:
I had the acer for a while, and yes it was nice. A little bulky (not sure the transformer is any different, I haven't received mine yet), the grid drove me nuts (I hardly ever saw it, but when I did it was really annoying and grabbed my attention).
The screen looked nice, but nothing like the ipad2 screen I saw. I'd still say it's worth the money if you don't care about the keyboard dock or if you need usb right on the tablet. My fiancee played with the acer while I had it, and now she bugs me every day about getting another one.
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I compared them side by side, weight was one of the major issue for me but that probably just me.

[INFO] The New Hotness

Ok, so as a brit I got the new firmware this morning and the increased stability has really highlighted what a great concept and execution the Transformer and dock is (its now starting to show its true potential and that's in no small part to the exchange of info here on xda and the efforts of Asus to get fixes and updates out)
So.. the build quality has disappointed some people.. and delighted others..
So.. the NEW Galaxy tab is garnering plaudits with some stellar reviews about the sceen and form factor (lighter than the ipad 2! thinner than the ipad 2! etc...)
However.... showing this bit of kit to techies and non techies alike.. the potential is really starting to surprise people. Its a netbook, but it isn't.. its got insane battery life.. its a tablet with a pretty stunning screen.. its a netbook wtih a stunning screen.. Honeycomb is a lot more flexible than people realise.. etc etc..
I should caveat this with a disclaimer that (so far) I've been one of the 'lucky ones' with a unit with few if any quality control issues.. and perhaps ASUS need to ramp up in that department if the posts here about build quality issues are any barometer.. but so far, this is a kick ass bit of kit and IMHO thoroughly deserves the title of 'The New Hotness' - there's nothing out there like it

We need more positive threads like this.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

I've found that people don't really "get it" when I just describe how the TF is both a tablet and a netbook. However, when I _show_ them by popping it on and off the keyboard, suddenly the lightbulb seems to always go off. Makes for a great demo, and of course, it's just generally cool...
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

Agreed... well written.

It will be perfect with 3.1 and an oc kernel that runs as fast as my gtab.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

Agreed that conceptually this is a great product.
I am on my second and both tablets suffer from built issues most notably significant light bleed.
If stock was more available I would like to exchange for a third and hope to get one that works just right but it is consitently out of stock and feels like a lottery to get one only to be let down when it copmes flawed.
Any of you having these issues?
Am I just being over picky about the light bleed?

Still can't get a keyboard here in Seattle

Well, after I got the Transformer, I envied the people that got the Galaxy Tab at the Google IO. Then I played with one and then I realized that if I had the choice, I'd go with the Transformer. And my wife, she now wants everything in the house to be Asus.
They say light bleed. I had to search for it a lot to find it. They say creakiness and I also had to twist the Transformer hardly to hear it. They said a lot of bad things, but you know what I think? Only people who have problems write comments and try to discuss their problems with the community and trying to fix it. But pleased people always stay away.
Anyway, I think the Transformer is the best compared to all the others and it is worth more that $400...

Theres a lot of love for this tablet, warts and all.. bring on Honeycomb 3.1... Definitely favour a stability release over a feature release at this stage

I am also very happy with mine. There is a little light bleed, but nothing I find bothersome. Way better than the iPad.
The docking station is the killer component of the system. With it the transformer changes from a device best suited to consumption to a device that can effectively create content. This is a huge advantage to me.
Jerry
PS. Glad to hear the new update made it to the UK. Mine received it the day I bought it and I have never had these sleep of death or other problems that occurred before the update.

Loving mine so far. With the last update the dock works even better. Now my ipad sits on a shelf.

jerrykur said:
I am also very happy with mine. There is a little light bleed, but nothing I find bothersome. Way better than the iPad.
The docking station is the killer component of the system. With it the transformer changes from a device best suited to consumption to a device that can effectively create content. This is a huge advantage to me.
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Yeah, reading that comparison thread of the four office products in the Apps & Themes section really brings home the content creation side of things... now for more music creation apps (iOS has a huge lead here)
Overaill, I guess the satisfied users will just have to evangelise the Transformers merits some more - but the lightbulb going on in peoples' heads when they see it in action (as was mentioned earlier) is really satisfying especially when its people who think tablets begin and end with Apple

I think only the really "anal" are harping on the light bleed and creaking.
Honestly the average consumer probably won't even notice these issues.
I notice, but really don't care that much.
There's slight creaking when bending it hard....but really is that affecting my user experience? Not really...maybe it speaks to build quality, which isn't THAT bad.
Light bleed...if i focus reaalllllly hard on the bottom right hand corner on a fully black screen I can see it....but everyday usage it goes unnoticed.

newtybar said:
I think only the really "anal" are harping on the light bleed and creaking.
Honestly the average consumer probably won't even notice these issues.
I notice, but really don't care that much.
There's slight creaking when bending it hard....but really is that affecting my user experience? Not really...maybe it speaks to build quality, which isn't THAT bad.
Light bleed...if i focus reaalllllly hard on the bottom right hand corner on a fully black screen I can see it....but everyday usage it goes unnoticed.
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Or perhaps you're making your own assumptions on the lack of severity of other peoples light bleed problems or whatever? They're not all the same you know.

newtybar said:
I think only the really "anal" are harping on the light bleed and creaking.
Honestly the average consumer probably won't even notice these issues.
I notice, but really don't care that much.
There's slight creaking when bending it hard....but really is that affecting my user experience? Not really...maybe it speaks to build quality, which isn't THAT bad.
Light bleed...if i focus reaalllllly hard on the bottom right hand corner on a fully black screen I can see it....but everyday usage it goes unnoticed.
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I guess I am anal then. I don't expect perfection but I don't need to search for light bleed I only need to view a dark background like a movie trailer in a dark room to see 4-5 patches of it along the bottom.
This has now happened on 2 different models so can't attribute it to a rare lemon.
As for creaking my first one was bad. The top and bottom bronze medal would click when holding it which was annoying.
The new one is much better in that regard. But the right side of the back plastic kind of gives when I first hold it.
So yes I am anal that I want my nearly 600$ tablet to have better build. But I also recognize the brilliance of the concept and if I can get one with less screen bleed I would be in love instead of on the fence to return.

I think the light bleed issue is somewhat inherent in the panel technology. The iPad seems to suffer light bleeds quite a lot and it seems to be somewhat worse in the new one. I also hear the new iPad is more fragile than the old one since Apple glued down the screen to make it thinner.

love my eee pad
I am really in love with my transformer.
I have a very light cracking on the right side....that's all.No hardware trouble at all.
I really LIKE HC, even it's not perfect, yet But it has a lot of potential for the future.
Most of the time the transformer runs smoothly and without trouble.

I gotta say this is the best tech device i have brought in ages.
Anyone whop knows me can guage how good a bit of tech is by how long it takes for me to whack it on ebay (normally a week lol) however the TF is just perfect for what i need.
Having owned 2 ipads and a galaxy tab i gotta say imho that this beats them all hands down. The dock makes a huge difference and turns a device which is mainly a concumption device into an excellent all rounder. It turns from a "i dont need it but its cool" device into a laptop/netbook replacement for most day to day tasks.
Ok you still need a pc if your into photoshop or video conversions etc but my gen 2 core i5 has just sat there limp and lonely for the last two weeks, basking in the shadows caused by this monolithic beauty.
When reading reviews before mine arrived i was worried about QC however i have come to realise that nothing will ever be perfect for everyone, and yes if you have a fault then you have the right to swap it. But am i going to go looking for faults NO, i have spent a nice £400 quid plus on this unit and you know what im gonna enjoy it for what it is!.
I love Samsung always have done but then again i have also always owned asus pc gear and know that there support generally is second to none let alone the reliability of there products. Hell lets not forget who invented the netbook in the first place, and while Apple may of have made the tablet popular Asus have made it USEFULL

thering1975 said:
I gotta say this is the best tech device i have brought in ages.
Anyone whop knows me can guage how good a bit of tech is by how long it takes for me to whack it on ebay (normally a week lol) however the TF is just perfect for what i need.
Having owned 2 ipads and a galaxy tab i gotta say imho that this beats them all hands down. The dock makes a huge difference and turns a device which is mainly a concumption device into an excellent all rounder. It turns from a "i dont need it but its cool" device into a laptop/netbook replacement for most day to day tasks.
Ok you still need a pc if your into photoshop or video conversions etc but my gen 2 core i5 has just sat there limp and lonely for the last two weeks, basking in the shadows caused by this monolithic beauty.
When reading reviews before mine arrived i was worried about QC however i have come to realise that nothing will ever be perfect for everyone, and yes if you have a fault then you have the right to swap it. But am i going to go looking for faults NO, i have spent a nice £400 quid plus on this unit and you know what im gonna enjoy it for what it is!.
I love Samsung always have done but then again i have also always owned asus pc gear and know that there support generally is second to none let alone the reliability of there products. Hell lets not forget who invented the netbook in the first place, and while Apple may of have made the tablet popular Asus have made it USEFULL
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Must say, I feel the same way about the Transformer. Since purchasing it I seem to be taking it everywhere with me like my phone. Did not think I would become that attached to a gadget even my wife is starting to get jealous!!!

I love my transformer too! It's an awesome piece of kit!
I bought an iPad2 the day after it launched (I managed to wander into a local store and they had one in stock!) and returned it a week later. There's no 'killer app' really, garageband was pretty cool and some of the games were nice, but as I already own an iPhone4, there was nothing I could do on the iPad that I couldn't do with my phone, and in fact as I've jailbroken my phone, I actually found the iPad very restrictive!
What really got me was having to jump through hoops wearing clown shoes with butter smeared on the bottom of them just to get any media on the iPad. I don't use iPhoto for my pictures and I don't buy movies from iTunes, so was fairly boned in terms of getting stuff on the device easily. With my transformer I just plug it in, and drag and drop! Or use wifi file transfer! Or use the microSD or SDHC on the dock! Or use the built in DNLA! So many options!
I've had my transformer for over a month now, and I still haven't sold or returned it! I will admit I've been lucky with mine, the only real problems I have are apps crashing a bit more often than I'd like them to. Everything else works wonderfully!
Compared to the iPoo, on my transformer I have a bunch of HD movies (including Avatar, which looks AMAZING!), loads of photos that the gallery just picks up on automatically, a few games, including fpse with final fantasy 7, 8 & 9, super puzzle fighter 2 turbo and a bunch of others, and a web browsing experience that actually works on pretty much every website I've been to! And I won't even bother mentioning the dock, and how many benefits that brings to an already great tablet!
Apple could learn a lot from the flash implementation! Practically the only use I found for the iPad was as a couch-based web browser, and without flash, that's pretty useless too!
Add that to the fact that there aren't as many decent tablet apps for the iPad as most of the media would have you believe (I spent a week looking for apps for the iPad2, and couldn't really find anything that wowed me), and the iPhone apps look terrible on the iPad, and it leads me to the conclusion that most of the people who praise the iPad over a device like the transformer have either sub-par intelligence, are living under a rock as far as knowing how tech works, or have fingers like pork pies (extremely fat).
Pretty much everyone I've shown my transformer too has been very impressed by it, and I know at least 10 of them are now trying to source their own transformers! I work in a big office full of techie people, so that number will probably increase! I kinda wish I could get some form of commission!
If I had to say anything bad about my transformer it's that the marketing behind video playback on tegra 2 devices has been a bit misleading. I have handbrake on my PC and mac and have saved templates that create lovely running HD files, but when I bought my transformer, I was kinda under the impression that it would play almost anything, what with the marketing touting "Full 1080p playback".
The only advice I have offered people is "if you don't have a tablet already, and you're not in any rush, keep an eye out on the upcoming tegra 3 tablets. They will handle pretty much any video resolution and encoding, and if you're planning on waiting a couple of months before getting a tablet, it *may* be worth holding out for the tegra 3."
Apparently the tegra 3 can handle resolutions up to 2560x1600, so it should handle high profile 1080p video fine, according to this demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPN3hHI9y-E
I just hope more can be eeked out of the tegra 2 chips, so I don't have to transcode every HD movie I want to watch on my transformer!
Although that said, other than that minor annoyance, I think my transformer is one of the best gadgets I've ever owned, and I like my gadge! Plus, it allows me to browse the net and remote control my home PC from work, with it tethered by bluetooth to my iphone. Pleasing.
Sorry for the long post, can't help gushing about the transformer sometimes! haha!

Is it worth it?

I live in Canada, and the GT10.1 will be released in a few weeks here, and I've been meaning to pick up my first tablet. Was hoping to get something from HTC since I like their products, but they don't seem to be releasing any tablets in Canada. Not for a while at least.
Is this tablet worth it? What has been your experiences so far? Should I bother with it, or should I wait for HTC?

Wait a bit. Honeycomb still has a long way to go.
If you're OK with what feels like beta software then go for it.
I'm enjoying mine.

I've been reading threads about the issues with the screen on this device. Is it really that bad? There seems to have been quite a few posts complaining about it. Seems like a huge drawback for me imo.

I put TouchWiz on my device this morning and it feels much nicer now... far more polished and even more cool features that aren't found on any other tablets
See my thread for more information on it, including a video
On the screen it is actually AFAIK the best screen in a tablet worldwide at the moment. Not long now until new 300dpi screens will be released but until then the screen is truly the best. I did however have an issue with an oily like pattern forming under my screen... I put it in the fridge and it appears to have fixed it

couto607 said:
I've been reading threads about the issues with the screen on this device. Is it really that bad? There seems to have been quite a few posts complaining about it. Seems like a huge drawback for me imo.
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There are no issues with my screen on my current tab...on my previous one I had the moisture problem. But this is one of the best screens currently, the only thing you should worry is honeycomb still being in early development stage.
Sent from my GT-P7500 using Tapatalk

I'd just say get the Tab... but then again I've never been one for HTC products. (And yes, I realize XDA is probably the worse place one could say that. )

Don't bother waiting for something better - there always is and it's not worth the wait.
Anything you buy now will be updated for the next 18 months with new OS builds and XDA will be here way after that with more updates.

I love this thing. There are negatives sides to every tablet out there. I like this guy because it weighs nothing, really fast, does flash and has a really bright screen. For me these far outweigh the minor bugs. Plus the apps are getting better and better.
I did a lot of research before my purchase. I would play around on it and see how it does the things that you want it for in the store.

I plan on using my tablet to watch movies or read books on my daily commutes. Is the tab good for it? Is it comfortable to hold for extended periods of time?

The hardware is nice, no problem with that.
But Honeycomb lacks quality and offers many bugs, there are only ~200-300 apps.
Next Android release will be 4.0 which is going to merge smartphone versions and tablet versions. Honeycomb is tablet ONLY. So just think this way: If you want to create apps, for which version do you decide? Or are you moving to Ipads, where you have none of those problems and a 5 times larger community to sell your apps?
If you want an tablet NOW, go and buy an Ipad2. If you can wait, then wait for Ipad3 or Android 4.0 and see if Android quality has improved. There will be Win8 tablets too next year. If it's 100% PC compatible, then this will be a winner.
At the moment, the tablet market stands in front of a crossroad and no one knows exactly which way to go. But for now, Ipad2 dominates.

couto607 said:
I live in Canada, and the GT10.1 will be released in a few weeks here, and I've been meaning to pick up my first tablet. Was hoping to get something from HTC since I like their products, but they don't seem to be releasing any tablets in Canada. Not for a while at least.
Is this tablet worth it? What has been your experiences so far? Should I bother with it, or should I wait for HTC?
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As many have already said, if you are looking for perfection and don't have a tolerance for a few bugs, then I'd pass on the GT10.1. I have it, I love it (most of the time) but it's very obvious that the o/s needs a lot of work. It's buggy, there are a bunch of glitches in the apps that come on the device, forcing you to either deal with it or download alternatives (which I find annoying), there is not a huge selection of apps (I'm a business user for the most part so I'm covered). I don't do much, if any, gaming on my device, and I don't root so for me it's a matter of hating Apple and preferring to have everything synched with my Gmail account.
I am waiting on a fully-compatible Windows device next year, that's when I'll be happy. Until then, I satisfy my tech addiction with Android.

Jesus people are ridiculous. If you know how to use the thing properly, there are almost no issues. A few FCes here and there on certain apps, sometimes there are workarounds.
Otherwise, best tablet screen, thin and light as hell, great battery life. Honeycomb isn't even bad wtf?? I use ADW for launcher anyway but all the Honeycomb parts are sick and work and look great. Am I missing something?? The OS is fast and works nice. Add root and Clockwork Recovery to that and this thing is great, esp the 32GB one.
Again, am I missing something??

couto607 said:
I plan on using my tablet to watch movies or read books on my daily commutes. Is the tab good for it? Is it comfortable to hold for extended periods of time?
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Definitely comfortable to hold and very light weight.

couto607 said:
I plan on using my tablet to watch movies or read books on my daily commutes. Is the tab good for it? Is it comfortable to hold for extended periods of time?
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If that's what youre gonna be doing, then the Tab is perfect for you. It's wide screen viewing angle is much better than watching a movie on the iPad or TouchPad because they are 4:3. The Tab also has a higher resolution for viewing too. The other main factor is that it is the lightest tablet and it will not strain you to hold it up.

just4747 said:
Jesus people are ridiculous. If you know how to use the thing properly, there are almost no issues. A few FCes here and there on certain apps, sometimes there are workarounds.
Otherwise, best tablet screen, thin and light as hell, great battery life. Honeycomb isn't even bad wtf?? I use ADW for launcher anyway but all the Honeycomb parts are sick and work and look great. Am I missing something?? The OS is fast and works nice. Add root and Clockwork Recovery to that and this thing is great, esp the 32GB one.
Again, am I missing something??
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I gotta agree with you here. The main issue with my tablet it the market bugs, which I've been reporting every time they happen, so they can be fixed. Even that isn't a huge deal for me. I love this device.

This is definitely the best tablet out there at the moment. Obviously there are going to be some newer tabs released later this year but for now this is a gr8 buy and is a beautiful and powerful machine. Obviously you can wait for something better but for now hands down best tablet on market imo.

just4747 said:
Jesus people are ridiculous. If you know how to use the thing properly, there are almost no issues. A few FCes here and there on certain apps, sometimes there are workarounds.
Otherwise, best tablet screen, thin and light as hell, great battery life. Honeycomb isn't even bad wtf?? I use ADW for launcher anyway but all the Honeycomb parts are sick and work and look great. Am I missing something?? The OS is fast and works nice. Add root and Clockwork Recovery to that and this thing is great, esp the 32GB one.
Again, am I missing something??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you are missing something
There are plenty of bugs with this device
And if you think 'a couple of FC's here and there' is OK then you're the reason why large companies can push out half baked software and get away with it.

khanable said:
Yes, you are missing something
There are plenty of bugs with this device
And if you think 'a couple of FC's here and there' is OK then you're the reason why large companies can push out half baked software and get away with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um every previous and current Android system force closes apps all the time..no different.
Nonetheless, I barely get any.

just4747 said:
Um every previous and current Android system force closes apps all the time..no different.
Nonetheless, I barely get any.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here - hardly any FC's

We humans aren't perfect, therefore the devices can never be made problem free. If Honeycomb bothers you so much, why don't you work on it and make it without everything you complain about?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App

[Q] What do you think of the Transformer?

So I was just wondering what is the overall feeling about this tablet? I'm thinking about getting it and i was just wondering if everyone likes it or if its 50/50 or what?

I've owned the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Acer Iconia, Motorola Xoom, and the Transformer. I can say that the Transformer is the best tablet for the money on the market. It's not as sexy as the Galaxy, but it's more functional, far more flexible, and a hell of a lot cheaper.

Always hard to get objective views on a product specific forum.
I'm in a love/hate relationship with it at the moment. I love the form factor and the functionality. I hate the lack of tablet optimized apps/games and the awful build quality.
To me, it feels like a beta product. This isn't a bad thing per-se as I like to tinker.

I like mine a lot, and its definatley the best bang for your buck Honeycomb tablet out there right now. Although I do wish it had the form factor / looks of the Galaxy 10.1, the HDMI out and Micro SD card slot are oh so nice to have, especially for $100 less
The build quality and lightbleed issues are the only downsides to the tablet in my opinion. I got one with a few creaks in the back and some light bleed, but I just look past it. Its not enough for me to sell or go through ASUS to replace it. Still works great for me. Also, not all of the tablets have this, and Im hoping the newer builds have been fixed.
If your thinking about getting one, I would definatley consider it. Great tablet and a great price right now.
Other big plus is that Asus is really quick at getting the Honeycomb updates out. We've got Honeycomb 3.2 already which is great.

rilot said:
Always hard to get objective views on a product specific forum.
I'm in a love/hate relationship with it at the moment. I love the form factor and the functionality. I hate the lack of tablet optimized apps/games and the awful build quality.
To me, it feels like a beta product. This isn't a bad thing per-se as I like to tinker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely feel like im a beta tester, but I dont really consider it a bad thing. I enjoy using new equipment and working out kinks. Just wish i didnt have to pay so much for it . That being said, a lot of the kinks are worked out now from my experience.
Keyboard lag is gone. Havnt had a sleep of death since the first update. Everythings running a lot smoother with the last firmware update.
Its replaced my laptop in class more or less completely. I use evernote and ezpdf to take notes and its wonderful.

do you use any of the attachments?

I got a Transformer and didn't regret, that I bought it. I got it without dock, because I only wanted a nice tablet ... for everything else I have an i7 notebook with 6 GB RAM.
If I can recommend it? Maybe ... depends on what you want to do with it.
Regarding quality control ... it's the fortune of the early adopter nowadays to be a beta tester. Example: I also got me a Galaxy S2 and though I'm very happy with it, the S2 forum here at XDA is full of complaints about QC.

jnad32 said:
do you use any of the attachments?
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Click to collapse
The keyboard is the big attachment and its really the selling point of the tablet. If you anticipate ever using it then the TF is the way to go, if you dont anticipate ever using it then you could be happy with the Samsung, albeit with no SD card and costing a lot more.
The TF has a great screen, its flexible and its cheap. Its not built as well as an ipad (or the other android tablets) but I havent had any functional issues with its built, its not like its breaking on me. Its just you can feel the difference in the "tightness" between the two.
Being said I ended up buying a second for the girlfriend, tired of her constantly using mine.

I got mine in the first batch to come out- from TD. I have had no real issues accept a tiny light bleed- build quality is great for mine. no creaking etc.
It has done everything i ask of it and thrown at it. I use mine for about 70% work related with notes at meeting, signatures on contracts, email, polaris app etc. Even skype calling..
Constantly listening to music watching movies etc. Never had any issues with Battery usage.
I think it has gotten better with each update. Yes little bugs here and there after an update ut usually fixed or have work around within 24 hours. That stuff doesnt bother me.
I never got the keyboard because i felt it was an option that i would never really use so i invested in a nice case- ( PDAIR ) I love the concept of the keyboard but just wasn;t going to use itand did no need the extra bulk.
For me never needed to root it yet (maybe down the road ) but for now it is great as stock.
Last thing i will say is there have been alot of new choices out since i have bought it... yes they might have had a thing or 2 that the TF did not have but i never have second guessed my choice.
Good luck.

Well you get 16hrs of battery life with the dock. No other tablet has this kind of a feature at this price point.
The screen quality and responsiveness is in the top quartile of tablets released so far.
I am pretty happy with my purchase. 10x better build quality than the Archos 101 I purchased earlier!

I absolutely love my TF, probably best 399$ I have ever spent on gadget, mine also comes with some light bleed, other than that, build quality is great. Have 2 Ipad2 in the house and they both have worst light bleed.
Would I suggest this tablet to a friend over other Android tablet? Yes, best tablet in the market IMO.
Over an Ipad2? Probably not unless someone familiar with Android and a geek just like me...

tonyz3 said:
I got mine in the first batch to come out- from TD. I have had no real issues accept a tiny light bleed- build quality is great for mine. no creaking etc.
It has done everything i ask of it and thrown at it. I use mine for about 70% work related with notes at meeting, signatures on contracts, email, polaris app etc. Even skype calling..
Constantly listening to music watching movies etc. Never had any issues with Battery usage.
I think it has gotten better with each update. Yes little bugs here and there after an update ut usually fixed or have work around within 24 hours. That stuff doesnt bother me.
I never got the keyboard because i felt it was an option that i would never really use so i invested in a nice case- ( PDAIR ) I love the concept of the keyboard but just wasn;t going to use itand did no need the extra bulk.
For me never needed to root it yet (maybe down the road ) but for now it is great as stock.
Last thing i will say is there have been alot of new choices out since i have bought it... yes they might have had a thing or 2 that the TF did not have but i never have second guessed my choice.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So my question to you is my boss has an ipad that we use for our invoices and paper work to get people to sign off on pdf files and what not. Does android have an app that lets you do that? And overall how good is it for work?

I got my U.S. Transformer a few weeks ago, and I enjoy using it very much:
With my PC, most of the time is spent going on the Web, so on the Transformer I just set up bookmarks for my most frequently visited sites in both the stock browser and the Dolphin for Pad (downloaded from the Market) browser and that takes care of my usual browsing needs. Email is now handled through the stock Gmail app, so again most of that can be done on the Transformer side.
For music, I've started using Google Music to upload my stuff, so I can just stream down to my Transformer through WiFi. For videos, I had already encoded a lot of stuff to MP4 format using Handbrake to play on my phone. But with ES File Explorer installed on my Transformer, I can now keep those MP4 files on my networked server and then stream them to the stock video player. This all works great and takes up no local storage.
Games that I had on my smartphone are all installed onto the Transformer and work fine. I've also found that classic game console emulators work quite well on the Transformer.
If I'm desperate to watch Hulu or Netflix (without any hacked or rooted methods), the MyCloud > My Desktop > SplashTop method works acceptably well.
Painting with SketchBook Pro is quite fun with this fantastic paid app, and I'm looking into various do-it-yourself stylus methods to enhance the experience.
I haven't had the need yet to use Polaris Office yet, but after reading user reviews, it looks to be a very capable Office app when compared with other non-free competitors, and I actually appreciate Asus for giving this for us.
The build quality, in my opinion, is quite nice. I don't have any LCD light bleed issues. The LCD itself is great with fantastic viewing angles. The built-in speakers are surprisingly loud. The touch screen is very responsive. And the textured plastic back panel keeps the whole unit lighter and gives it a nice feel.
The only negatives I have are:
Camera - absolutely terrible, especially when using indoor lighting. But I already know that the video and photo taking experience on almost all tablets is not good anyway, so I never expected much. I almost never use the stock camera app. I have Vignette installed on my Transformer for the heck of it, but this rarely gets used either. I leave picture taking to my digital camera and my smartphone.
Browser - for some sites, I get slowdowns with both the stock browser and Dolphin for Pad. With Android 3.1, I experienced quite a bit of force closings with the stock browser. It's improved with 3.2, but it still happens. I find it hard to believe that Google makes such a good browser as Chrome but has such a mediocre one for Honeycomb.
Linux support - the only thing I ask for is the simplicity of plugging my Transformer into my Linux PC and have access to its SD and MicroSD cards. But I have to jump through the hoop of running a few lines in Terminal just to get those drives mounted and unmounted. It's a pain, and I wish it was as easy as the Windows experience.
Since using my Transformer more and more, my smartphone has pretty much been relegated back to being just a phone which is fine. This morning I began charging my Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 once it dropped to 1% battery power...and it had been running on that one full charge for 174-hours-33-minutes! I'll still use the phone for navigation and portable music after I get over the honeymoon period with the Transformer, but right now using my smart phone just isn't the same any more.
So since I've gotten the Transformer, I've made a conscious effort to reduce using my PC and my smartphone, and it's worked out great as a personal computing device. For a business environment, there might not be enough apps to support various needs just yet, but it'll get there, I'm sure. The Transformer is a very good bang-for-the-buck kind of device, and I have no regrets about having it.

Enjoy my tablet a great deal. I actually use it more than i thought i would. Im constantly looking for new apps that will make this into my swiss army knife.
I use splashtop a lot, and now added a Wake on Lan app which now has got me the bright idea to go out and purchase a home server...lol
build quality is definitely not the greatest. Personally, i dont think it compares to the newer tablets coming out. (build)
Dont own the keyboard. Im waiting for a good deal down the road when it drop to around $100. by then, i figure, ill give the TF to my wife (with a keyboard), and ill jump on to the newest tablet. (maybe TF2)
Im a first time android/tablet buyer and user, so i came with no expectations..
Ill know what to look for in my next purchase though.
(so, i guess im a beta tester)

jnad32 said:
So my question to you is my boss has an ipad that we use for our invoices and paper work to get people to sign off on pdf files and what not. Does android have an app that lets you do that? And overall how good is it for work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are applications that let you fill out and/or sign PDF files. Adobe also has an app that converts things to PDF. Ive used my TF to fill out forms and sign them multiple times.

jnad32 said:
So my question to you is my boss has an ipad that we use for our invoices and paper work to get people to sign off on pdf files and what not. Does android have an app that lets you do that? And overall how good is it for work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are alot of choices for this. I use Repligo PDF and love it.After i sign or client signs,on the TF I email it and looks just as clear as original.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.cerience.reader.app&feature=search_result
worth the $4.99 investment,

Love mine, I'm confident I made the right choice. £400 for a tablet-only device is not a wise spend. £400 for a tablet AND a netbook IS thou...
Aside from the keyboard drain (which is being fixed under RMA as we speak), I have no issues whatsoever with my device, and overjoyed with it.

jnad32 said:
So my question to you is my boss has an ipad that we use for our invoices and paper work to get people to sign off on pdf files and what not. Does android have an app that lets you do that? And overall how good is it for work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd be very surprised if there is any app that iPad can do, that Android can't, as because of Android's open and less restrictive nature, you won't find missing apps, because "Apple don't like it, or Apple can't make money from it, or it cuts into Apple's buisness".

My TF is all good I have no problems with my tablet, maybe one of the lucky ones or just the fact that those few who have bad units choose to come to forums like this to seek advice and let everyone know how bad their unit is. With the dock it is an amazing bit of kit, I have tried the xoom, Acer and the Gtab, and unless you want form over function the TF is the best of the current bunch. As all the present android tablets running honeycomb are running the same os and internal spec. My own preference would be ports and functionality, screen, speed of updates and build quality. For me the TF ticks all the boxes.
Xoom, highintial price, lack of support and working ports, poor screen
Gtab, lack of ports, slow updates from Samsung.
I like the design of the TF especially when combined with the dock, equal to any high end net book, Asus have done a great job with amazing fore sight, it is original only the Gtab is thinner and that is purely because it is an I pad clone.
I would think the units with defects are no different to apple I pad or even the Gtab on a percentage basis, plenty of apple units go back to their stores.
With regards to being beta testers, we are with regards android for tablets, like we were back in the 90,s with win 3.11. My recommendation to anyone wanting a android tablet with the best all-round functionality at the best price, get the TF.

Had my TF about two weeks now, and am yet to have any issues with it. I love peoples reactions when I undock the screen though, it's brilliant.

My Review of the A500

I have read several articles about "junk", bad video, and what ever, complaints about the Iconia, and decided to add my 2 cents worth.
I have been personal computing since the early 1980s. I was on the internet before the world wide web, and started using the www when command prompts were the norm and things like gopher were being used. I've used every version of msdos and all versions of windows except 8.
I have two desktops, one portable, one netbook, and the Iconia. Which computer do I use the most. The simple answer is the A500. The more complex is the one that best suits the job I have to do. If I'm doing photo or video work it's my best desktop, at the moment it's my portable. If I were not typing it would probably be the a500. The real point is I don't use my tablet for something it was not designed to do.
The other side of my computing experience has been the small computer. I don't remember which came first, the Springboard,Palm variant, or the Microsoft with and early version of a portable widows. It seems like a long time ago but I bought the Springboard in 2001 and It cost more than the A500. The Microsoft machine had a wider screen which was great, but the screen was almost unreadable. Both used a stylus and phone modems. I always wanted a good book reader. Neither worked that well. The small amount of material on screen means a lot of page turning and page turning delays just disrupts the flow of reading. I also had a sony reader that used disks. In good light reading was okay, but disk access and page turning was terrible, and sony did not support it for very long. Microsoft didn't support their computer either.
Next came the Itouch. Back light and color WOW. It also had WIFI and a web browser. I used it a lot, and my wife loves to play angry birds on it. This was my first real experience with ITunes and Apple. I did not like the way Apple ties you down to their way and I do not own a piece of software that gets updated as much a Itunes does. In fact I just got another update notice while typing in this post. I would not have it on the computer if it were not fore the Itouch. Reading with the Itouch was a far better experience than anything else I've used but page turning so often still is a hassle.
Then came BN and the nook with color touch area at the bottom. Now reading was an all together new experience and the size is great. But, I happened to be in my local BN and someone had not bought their pre order Nook Color. I jumped and have had it over a year now. Biggest problem, BN throttled the NC down worse than apple. I rooted as soon as It came available. A rooted nook color has been the very best at what I wanted in a small computer. I soon learned that the color screen did not bother my reading, and I could go browsing when ever I wanted, plus Overdrive a library loan application worked as well. I could download both audio and epub books from my local library. No need for BN at all.
Audio playback is not great and sound volume sucks. I had to use earphones to listen to anything. So what is my book reader, book playback, browser now? My Acer Iconia.
My most used computer for almost everything I like to do on the computer is my Iconia. And it does these thing very well. A much bigger screen for browsing. The sound is good and volume is high enough not to have to use earphones all the time. Screen data is almost too much for my normal reading, but with apps like Cool Reader I can set up the reader just like I want it, down to the ability to set touch zones just the way I want them. The Acer book reader Lumaread is better than most.
The Acer is somewhat tied down but not bad enough for me to bother rooting, and I have found plenty of good apps from market for my needs. I don't know if I'll root or not.
I don't know, at this point, if I were standing at Best Buy with $700 that this is the tablet I would buy. I got a deal from my daughter when she found out I was looking for a tablet and she was not happy with the tablet, because she social networks a lot and likes to have a keyboard. The point is that the acer is half this not existent $700. I would do just about anything not to buy an Apple and the remaining options are not that many.
My first problem was the wt. I lay in bed and read and like to move around and keep reading. Kind of paperback mode. The slippery skin and shape is not that great for my way reading. It is heavier than some of the tablets but only 1/3 lb. more than the Ipad2, and less than others.
It has a good selection of ports. The full usb lets me use usb mem and I have a 80 gig batt. operated hard drive that works just fine. Fat 32 format. USB keyboard and mouse works. The mouse driver is new to honeycomb.
I had a little trouble getting a HDMI cord but got one for 12 bucks from fry's and the picture looks great on my tv. I don't understand the video complaints. Netflix works great and looks just fine to me. As I understand it, this was an early complaint in reviews and was fixed with honycomb updates. On early review said angry birds was jumpy, but I don't see it and I think that is also due to honeycomb updates. Outside in the sun the display is not very good but is fine in my car with tinted windows. I don't know why there is not more manual control for the screen. Contrast control would be great. I don't know if this is a problem with acer or android.
Battery times are not that big of issue for me. I always travel with inverter and can charge it up at anytime. Even though the volatage is 12v the plug seem to be smaller than standard plugs and I have not found one that works.
I rotate browsers but the standard browser works fine and sometimes works when others don't seem to want to display a page correctly.
I believe it has all the normal sensors and gps seems to work fine.
I have not had any wifi problems. I have not traveled that much with it yet so I don't know about starbucks and Mac, but I expect those will work fine.
I have three acer computers. Portable, netbook, and know tablet and they all work fine.
So the Iconia has met my needs in the middle. I think I prefer the NC size for book reading. And I sort of regret trading it to my daughter, but all in all I'm very happy with A500 and I don't regret getting it. What about that $700, well I just might walk out with Acer anyway and get a several new tools in the process.
Woody

Damn Dude, that's more like a buck and a half's worth, instead of 2 cents.

Walls of text are never pleasant to read, next time break it up into smaller, coherent parts.

Loved your review. Love my A500.
Sent from my A500 using xda premium

WereCatf said:
Walls of text are never pleasant to read, next time break it up into smaller, coherent parts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't read it then.
Sent from my A100 using xda premium

qhinton said:
Don't read it then.
Sent from my A100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doubt they did, most people don't complain about length and read it. He did have paragraphs, that breaks it up. but it was old school

qhinton said:
Don't read it then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I skimmed through it. But my comment was merely provided as constructive criticism to him should he decide to write as much again sometime in the future, not as an insult: it'll be more pleasant for people to read if it's broken up in smaller, coherent pieces and the author doesn't just jump from one thing to the next like he had ADHD.
Being able to accept constructive criticism and improve yourself and/or your behaviour based on that is a terribly useful and positive trait and can even make or break you getting that long-wished-for promotion or job offer.
That said I am not commenting on the content of the OP's post, only the presentation.

Thanks for the in depth thoughts. I don't agree with some of it but we all have our personal requirements as to what works best for us.
It sounds like you are in the same boat as many of us what with a multitude of decent but not fantastic products out there but you have to remember we are still at the dawn/infancy of these devices and they WILL get better. No one tablet is best, rather they are all a set of choices and compromises which is good for the consumer since that leaves a lot of choices out there. That's good.
You have the disadvantage of not shopping for it, rather you got it from your daughter so you didn't even get to choose the compromises you'd be OK accepting. You might have chosen something different but give the A500 a fighting chance (sounds like you are doing that) and I think you'll be fine with it.
I had no problems with your formatting by the way. Type however you feel is best and I'll cope! TYPE IN ALL CAPS IF YOU WANT. I can handle it.
Sounds like your computer experience is similar to mine though I started dabbling in the late 70's and early 80s and on through today. Way to stick with it. Technology is cool.
One suggestion - if you have issues with the A500 slipping out of your hands, consider getting the Zagg full body protection. It's a "skin" you apply to all sides of the tablet and is somewhat rubbery. It makes it a LOT less slippery.
Good luck and thanks for the review.

And if you plan to hangout at McDonalds to use the free wifi, I would advise an app called "KillWifi". It's a nice diagnostic tool allowing to teach a lesson to those pesky Apple "Homesteaders" sucking up all the bandwidth.

Moscow Desire said:
And if you plan to hangout at McDonalds to use the free wifi, I would advise an app called "KillWifi". It's a nice diagnostic tool allowing to teach a lesson to those pesky Apple "Homesteaders" sucking up all the bandwidth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have no right to decide who gets to use the bandwidth and who doesn't. Only selfish douchebags would do what you're advising. Not to mention that it's incredibly childish to annoy other people only because of what device they happen to use, that's like denying you Internet connection because you're wearing a wrong shirt.

Thanks very much for you review. I hope that I will also happy with my coming a500 . Nothing is perfect, but we can learn to be happy with it. Regretting is not good for your health .
Next time, I think you should consider double linefeed (enter) to make things easier to read.

WereCatf said:
You have no right to decide who gets to use the bandwidth and who doesn't. Only selfish douchebags would do what you're advising. Not to mention that it's incredibly childish to annoy other people only because of what device they happen to use, that's like denying you Internet connection because you're wearing a wrong shirt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, but it's like wearing a $250 ed hardy tshirt with the dragons and ****, and I would certainly approve of anything to annoy them

Thanks for the suggestions on formatting. I didn't mean for the post to be that long, just got away from me. "typical"
Sent from my A500 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk